A picture I took of Magnus a couple of years back at the Stockholm Open.

11-03-2013 04:30 PM

Eden

Re: Magnus Norman

MagnusNorman@ normansweden

Miss my girls but tomorrow they will be with the team in London #FinalShowdown

11-01-2013 09:25 AM

swedes_rule

Re: Magnus Norman

thanks for sharing

10-31-2013 11:00 AM

Eden

Re: Magnus Norman

I saw Magnus in Basel but unfortunately didn't had the opportunity to say something to him.

I would have loved to tell him how glad I am about his partnership with Stan

Magnus' legendary RG 2000 final got uploaded by someone

[YouTube]BvkLNA-SJTs[/YouTube]

05-29-2013 09:30 PM

Sommarsverige

Re: Magnus Norman

Thanks for the great interviews, Doris :-)

We saw Magnus and Stan together at Roland Garros the past days and they really seem to get along very well!! I definitely hope they will extend their partnership!

05-20-2013 12:00 AM

Eden

Re: Magnus Norman

There was an interview with Magnus in Swiss media a few days ago and I thought to translate it:

"Maybe we have to set the bar higher"

Magnus Norman, during the victory presentation in Madrid Wawrinka said he didn't knew whether you are that good or if he would only be lucky. What's true?

Luck was surely a part of it. But I don't like to talk about myself and will never like to do it. Wawrinka is inspired due to our common work, he is in form, physically and mentally. He plays well the whole season so far.
We had a great start, just a few days after our first days of practice in Lausanne he won the Portugal Open and now he was in a final again. But we have to try to continue in our way. There is still a lot of tennis to be played.

What went wrong in the Madid final against Rafael Nadal which he lost that clearly?

He was a bit tired. He not just played a lot but he often had to play late in the evening. After the matches against Tsonga and Berdych we weren't back in the hotel until 3 in the morning. It was a tough week. But I expected that he would challenge Nadal a bit more nevertheless.

What could you meanwhile work on?

Wawrinka learns quickly, he immediately adapts what I say. I have the feeling that he already plays his forehand better. Most important is though that he gains more confidence. Victories against topplayers as Ferrer, Dimitrov, Tsonga and Berdych are helpful for him.

Does he have way to less selfconfidence compared with his abilities?

For sure. But he is ranked in the Top 10 now and deserves it because he is a very strong player. The main focus in our work is that he believes in him more and plays the big points good.
He is on the right way and already made big progresses. For example against Tsonga: He was nervous there in the TB of the 2nd set, missed 3 MPs but then he came back and won the 3rd set.

Are you also a mental coach?

No, but we talk a lot about such topics. I say him for example how I felt as a player, things like that. Wawrinka is a bit shy and unsecure in his personality.

What can we expect from him in Rome? Couldn't this tournament be too much for him since he played 10 matches in 11 days?

He played a lot lately indeed but I think that he can have some good results in Rome as he doesn't have to play on Monday.

What do you think he is capable of doing in Paris?

The French Open are far away. At the Moment we don't think about Paris. We concentrate on match by match. There are so many good players...
But everything is possible. Wawrinka is one of those players who can beat nearly everyone on a given day. He is good on every surfaces, even on grass.

He tried to get you as a coach since more than a year. Why did it just work now?

Because it fits better into my Agenda now. We have twin girls who are 1 1/2 years old and therefore I wasn't ready to travel before. Now they are going into the day nursery in Stockholm soon. That means I'm a bit more free.

Can you imagine to travel with Wawrinka the whole time?

Not at the moment. I have also other commitments, my tennisacademy in Stockholm. That's why I won't be in Rome. But Wawrinka is very important for me. We are going to meet next week in Paris in order to prepare for Roland Garros.

You had to retire already with 27 years. Are you able today to play tennis again?

It's not a problem to play from time to time. I already practiced with Wawrinka, in Lausanne and Madrid.

You got known as the coach of Robin Söderling who you lead into the final of Paris and into the Top 5. With whom did you also work?

Firstly I build up the academy and worked with Juniors, then one year with Thomas Johansson. I also worked with him when he lost with Aspelin at the Olympic Games in Beijing in the final against Wawrinka/Federer.

Wawrinka had a Swedish coach before with Peter Lundgren. Did you contact him?

No. But I talked a lot with Severin Lüthi and also Pierre Paganini, his Fitness coach.

Wawrinka achieved many goals in the last 2 weeks: a tournament victory, several victories against topplayers, the return into the Top 10. Which are your new goals now?

We have goals, yes. (laughs) But we decided to keep them for ourselves. Our main focus is to develop him as a player. But maybe we have to set the bar a bit higher indeed.

There is a French interview with Magnus about his work with Stan.
Here's a translation via Google:

"Stan has to feed his killer instinct"

Magnus Norman, how would you describe Wawrinka as a person and as a player?

He is very pleasant to be around, generous personality. I appreciate working with him. It's rewarding. Stan is shy, unsure of himself. This is sometimes seen on a tennis court. He needs to build his confidence. This is a point on which I hope to help, which we have already started working. As a player, he's a talented, already has a successful career behind him. He just lacks some very good results on the big tournaments. But he plays the same time as Roger (Federer), Rafa (Nadal) and Novak (Djokovic), which does not facilitate the task. With them - and also Murray now - it is not easy to break into the Grand Slams. Our goal with Stan, is to achieve something in a major tournament.

This timidity does not grow to be too nice against certain opponents? He sometimes gives the impression of being denied the right to earn unconsciously ...

Absolutely. I had the same feeling as having the opportunity to observe closely. He needs to further develop a killer instinct. Especially during the important points. It should no longer play as "Mr. nice" but that killer instinct. Without changing personality. He just needs to address these key points with a warrior spirit.

It was striking against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Monte Carlo. What advice will you give to this Madrid hand (note: he beat the French in three sets in the night from Friday to Saturday)?

Here, the conditions are not the same as Monte Carlo. This is higher altitude here and they will play at night. As before any match, we will be well prepared, discuss the specific points to work together and adopt a strategy. But it is important to focus on the game for Stan. This will be our priority this evening (note: last night). The bottom line is that he can believe in him, in his ability to beat Tsonga. I do not want him to consider a good match. I want him to shows in the match winner.

In Switzerland, Wawrinka is often in the shadow of Roger Federer. Does it did not somewhat inhibited?

Maybe. Roger is unique. He is probably the best player of all time and it is clear that it is not easy to "cohabit" with him. But Stan is Stan. He has a great career. He was in the top 10, top 20 now. If we consider the number of players that are on the circuit, it is already an achievement. But he clearly has the ability and all the weapons to be ranked higher and still get very good results in major tournaments. He is fresh, physically and mentally. I feel he can push even further the performance.

What improvements are you aiming at the technical level?

There are several things for improvement in his game. Obviously, his backhand is world class. Perhaps the best in the circuit. At the right time, however, there is room for improvement. Although it is good. This is not so much the act that can be improved as its positioning on the court at the time of the strike. This is something that we can adjust. As the return of service. He is sometimes hesitant, do not really know whether to stay back to back or forward in the court. We can also work on the service. It has ups and downs. I would like it to be a more solid and constant service. These are small things we can improve on and which we have already begun to work.

Sometimes he shows signs of impatience and will mark the point in two or three keystrokes instead of extending ...

Indeed, we have also discussed this point. I watched it several times. Already when I was the coach of Robin Söderling and Stan played against him. I have a pretty clear idea about it. It's quite a mental aspect of the game. It has to do with his state of mind and pressure management.

The results you achieved with Söderling speak for themselves. What do you aim with Wawrinka?

I do not like talking about myself. I prefer to talk about Stan. We set the bar pretty high. We set goals to achieve, but we prefer to keep them to ourselves. I am convinced that daily work on small things can have a huge impact. Stan played very well since the beginning of the year. He had tight matches against Djokovic in Melbourne, Berdych in Davis Cup or Tsonga in Monte Carlo. Defeats. I think his victory against Ferrer in Estoril brought him a lot of confidence. It is a dynamic success. I hope it will continue. I see no reason why he should not win tonight (note: last night) against Tsonga.

The Djokovic defeat in Australia was painful but didn't it help to take a step forward?

I discussed this with Severin Lüthi who told me that Stan had much better digested this defeat than others. He felt that Stan had a good shot rather than moping. He was able to take the positive of this match and move forward. This surely explains his strong start to the season. There was indeed not that bad in this defeat. It was a match of very high level.

You swapped with Lüthi?

This was a priority on my list. It was important to me because he follows Stan for a long time and knows him better than me. We spent time together here in Madrid, watched two games of Stan together and talked a lot about his tennis. His impact on Stan the past two years was very helpful. I also talked with Pierre Paganini, his physical trainer.

What do you think of his time "solo"?

It was a good thing. Especially as he still had Paganini and Lüthi. Although he is sometimes unsure of himself, Stan is not less determined. He knows what he wants. He did not want to take a coach just for taking one. He wanted the right person, someone you trust.

That person was you and he expected you to be free ...

I am very honored. But I prefer to stay humble. It is not magic. You can not change things overnight. This requires dedication and patience. We started well. He won in Portugal. We also have to face losses and learn from them. But he grew mentally. We are in preparation for Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but it is in a position to do something here (note: in Madrid).

I wish Magnus success. I would like to see him with a player I respected more than Stan, but it will be nice to catch a glimpse of Magnus now and then.

04-16-2013 06:05 PM

Eden

Re: Magnus Norman

Wawrinka Teams Up With Norman On Trial Period

Stanislas Wawrinka has agreed to a trial coaching period with former World No. 2 Magnus Norman. The duo will work together mainly before and during major championships.

Wawrinka has been without a coach for more than 12 months. He said, “I have been eager to work with Magnus for many years now and I’m very excited to finally have that opportunity.

“We will explore our relationship through this test period and I have no doubt it will bear fruit with hard work and dedication. I am excited to learn from his experiences. He is a fantastic coach and was a great player, so I only see an upside to this relationship. He most certainly will add a different dimension to my game.”

Former World No. 2 Norman said, “I hope it will be the start of something very good. As always, it’s important to set the bar high but be humble doing so.”

Norman won one ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the 2000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, a few weeks before he reached the Roland Garros final (l. to Kuerten). The Swede had a 12-6 record in tour-level singles finals. In his post-playing career, Norman coached Robin Soderling for two years.